


if i hold on

by leeluna



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Dav is the principal, Kalen is also a counselor and even worse at his job, Kalen is weird and gross to Julia just a warning, Literally everyone - Freeform, Lucas is the worst, Merle is a counselor who is terrible at his job and befriends bad students, The twins are the bad students, loosely dnd based modern fantasy, so i steal spells and races but no other dnd rules
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-06-01 04:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15134981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leeluna/pseuds/leeluna
Summary: “If I hold on, you’ll be back with me tomorrow.”Being an annoying teenager is hard enough without a weird teacher causing you a lot of problems and a mean nerd trying to ruin your life.OrTaako and Lup find themselves caught in a delicate legal battle with less than delicate people as they try to conquer high school and protect their friends.





	1. chapter one: she set me on fire!

Magnus shuffled down the hallway to his first period, chemistry. God he hated that stupid class but not more than he hated... suddenly a body stopped directly in front of him. Magnus looked up from where his eyes were trained on the floor to see the face he wanted to see the least.

“Ey buddy! Where ya goin?” Maarvey cooed as he leaned against the lockers, glaring at Magnus.

“To class,” Magnus glared back, making a move to step around Maarvey but Maarvey moved too quickly, giving Magnus a quick shove. He stumbled back and caught himself, making sure to keep his hands on his backpack straps. He remembered last time this confrontation had arisen Magnus came close to beating the snot out of Maarvey, only to be busted by Mr. Kalen. Magnus clenched his jaw and started to move around Maarvey again, this time with a warning. “Push me again and I take this directly to Davenport.”

“Is that a threat?” Maarvey teased, faking a face of fear. Magnus turned to Maarvey, stopping as he walked around him. He glanced over his shoulder to meet Maarvey’s eyes.

“And a promise,” Magnus growled dramatically before continuing his walk to the chemistry lab.  
__

Magnus barely scooted in the room before the bell rang. He heard the teacher tut from her desk.

“Burnsides, don’t be tardy,” She called, exposing him to the whole class.

Magnus blushed in embarrassment, “Yes, ma’am, won’t happen again.” He muttered before speedwalking to his seat in the back next to Lup.

“‘Sup, loser,” Lup greeted him with a low five under the desk. “Kalen get ‘cha in the hall?”

“No, it was Maarvey,” Magnus whispered as he sets his notebook on the desk and settled into his seat.

“Mr. Burnsides!” The teacher’s voice rings from the front of the room. “Do I have to report you to Mr. Kalen?”

“No-” A snicker rung from the very front row and Magnus locked eyes with a smirking Lucas Miller. “No, ma’am. I apologize.”

The teacher merely give a small scoff before continuing with the lesson, but Lucas didn’t turn back around. Checking to see if the teacher is looking, he pitched a paper ball back at Magnus who caught it in midair, not breaking eye contact. Lucas gave one last sneer before turning back to his notes.  
Magnus carefully unfolded the note under the desk so he and Lup could both see it.

_I didn’t realize we let delinquents into this school, burnsides._   
_since i know she will read this too,_   
_i'm coming for your boyfriend’s spot in state._   
_Eternally better than you,_   
_Lucas M._

_ps. i'm very disappointed my trap for you didnt work today._

 

Magnus stared at the bottom of the note where a juvenile drawing of what he can only assume to be him, being eaten by a shark is drawn in rushed ink. Magnus silently crumpled it back up and hands it over to Lup who reaches down into her bag. Magnus doesn’t watch the next part because he knows what's gonna happen. However, he does watch as a flaming ball of paper soars over the students ahead of them and lands with perfect aim in Lucas’s greasy hair. Out of the corner of his eye Magnus see’s Lup shove the lighter into her bag and resume “taking notes”.

When Lucas screams she looks up shocked, expert acting. Magnus does the same, looking up from his notebook in surprise. Lup, being closest to the fire blanket, runs to get it and practically slams it onto Lucas’s burning hair. As she smothers the flames she hesitates for a half second to whisper in his ear.

“Do not ever doubt me,” She hisses before continuing to smother him, the flames almost certainly gone now. She gives him a little shove, blanket still over his head, and steps back, making it look like he stumbled.

The teacher, noticing Lup’s quick work in remedying the situation gives her a small smile. “Nice work, Lup.” Lup gave a small dramatic bow before returning to her seat.

__

Magnus knew Lucas was probably going to accost them after class, but he was more than confident they could handle whatever the shrimp tried to throw at them. Lup stood by Magnus as he threw all his stuff lazily into his Jansport and together they walked out of the room. Magnus counted 3 paces before Lucas appeared in front of them, fire in his eyes.

“Hey, Lucas!” Lup called, feigning nonchalance. “How's it going?”

“H-how’s it going?” Lucas sputtered. “You set my hair on fire,” He growled.

Lup pursed her lips and squinted a little bit. “Doesn’t sound like something I would...do?” She teased.

Magnus saw the rage boiling in Lucas’ eyes as he stepped towards her.

“Just because I can’t get you this time doesn’t mean I won’t, you useless-”

“I think it’s time for us to go,” Magnus interjected, placing a hand protectively on Lup’s shoulder and guiding them away from Lucas. Lup didn’t pull away, but she did seem dissatisfied.

“I could’ve handled him,” She murmured.

“Oh trust me,” Magnus laughed. “I know you can, it's not that. Kalen was staring you down from the doorway to his office.”

Lup scoffed, “I could take him too.”

“Yeah well right now we don’t need any more excuses for Davenport to cover for us,” Magnus sighed, removing his arm as they walked into the girls locker room.  
Without going into the soccer girls changing room, Magnus called to his team from outside.

“All you guys here?”

He got a chorus of “Yup!” and “Here!” in response and assumed the whole team was here.

“Be out on the field when you're changed!” He called to them as he collected his clipboard and whistle and headed out to the fields. Shortly, Julia sprint up next to him, her curly hair swaying in an adorable ponytail. Magnus felt his heart leap as she smiled at him.

“Hey, cutie,” She winked, easily matching his pace. “Lup told me what happened, with Maarv and Lucas and all that,” She hip checked him as they walked. “I don't know whether to be proud or disappointed that you didn't get in a fight.”

Magnus let out a hearty laugh and grabbed his girlfriend’s hand and stopped suddenly. As she turned to him he planted a quick kiss on her lips.

“Hey!” A deep voice rang from further down the hall. “Knock it off, Burnsides! No PDA!”

Magnus blushed slightly, still holding Julia’s hand. “Sorry, Coach Bear!” He called back as some of the other girls caught up, namely, Carey and Killian. Killian elbowed him roughly and ruffled his hair.

“Come on, Burnsides!” She called. “No PDA!” Magnus merely gestured to her other hand that held Carey’s. Killian just shrugged in response as they walked the rest of the way in content silence.

__

When the whole team met out on the field, Magnus started them on running drills. There was a game coming up in a few weeks and they couldn’t afford to lose if they were gonna make state. Standing at the edge of the field, Magnus carefully watch his precious team train, the Starblasters would make it to the playoffs this year if it killed them. Behind him, Magnus heard a metallic thump and then a small whimper. He whipped around and strode towards the bleachers.

“Taako you don’t have to hide we all know you’re skippin gy-” But the person under the bleachers was not Taako but a small dwarven frame. Magnus bent down to get a better view and make sure they knew he was there. “Hey, Little Jerry, skipping class I see?”

Jerry startled again, jumping up and hitting his head on the metal. “I...uh...I have a message from Lucas.”

“Already talked to him today,” Magnus waved dismissively. “Tell him I’m good.”

“Watch out for Kalen, Burnsides.” Jerry dutifully repeated. Magnus rolls his eyes slightly.

“Well ok I have a game to get to but feel free to tell Lucas I don’t appreciate his warning-threat at all,” And with that Magnus returned to his team, a sense of unease setting in a pit in his stomach.

__

Julia held out her hand for her boyfriend to grab as they walked down the hall to their next classes. Julia was headed to engineering and Magnus was headed to ELA, but they were in the same direction so they walked together. They walked in comfortable silence until Magnus looked up from the ground and turned to her.

“I saw Little Jerry during practice. And he told me that Lucas said to watch out for Kalen,” Magnus felt her grip on his hand tighten ever so slightly.  
Kalen grossed Julia out, and for good reason too. He had never...done anything to her but he was a creepy administrator and his advances weren’t always subtle. There were rumors of a student who he made so uncomfortable that she dropped out and tried to sue. Kalen had the trial quickly buried because of the distinct lack of evidence. He was smart enough to not get caught, but he wasn't smart enough to know not to target Magnus’s girl.

“Oh…” Julia stuttered. “Well it’s okay! We can...uh...we can…” The couple was taken aback by the sudden presence in front of them.

“Ms. Waxmen,” The smooth voice instantly set both of them on edge. Julia made fierce eye contact as she spoke.

“Yes, Mr. Kalen?”

“I do believe those shorts are out of dress code,” He tutted. “I think you need to go to the principal, young lady.”

“If you know she’s a young lady you should keep your nasty hands off of her,” Magnus spitefully muttered under his breath.

Kalen turned his attention to him, his eyes nearly alight with rage. “You were saying something, Mr. Burnsides?”

“No, sir.”

“Um,” Julia piped up. “I have athletic pants back in the locker room I’ll just run back and-”

“And be late to your next class?” Kalen interjected.

“Well,” Magnus fumed “she wouldn’t be in this mess at all if-”

“I’ll be ok, sir,” Julia assured before squeezing Magnus’s hand and jogging back off the way they came.

“You might want to watch your tongue, Burnsides,” Kalen noted, his profile towards Magnus. “It has a tendency to get you in trouble.”


	2. a startling amount of informality

Magnus fumed the rest of the way to English. How dare Kalen. He was furious. Julia had just been in athletic shorts, too lazy to change after practice. It made his blood boil, knowing Kalen had seen that, looked at Julia like that. It made Magnus want to hurl. But he didn’t. He walked to English, desperate to vent his frustration to Taako.  
He barged into the nearly empty classroom and slid into his seat next to Taako who was mindlessly scrolling through Twitter.

“You’d never guess-”

“Lulu told me the whole shebang. Maarv, Lucas, fire, all of it.”

“Wh-” Magnus sputtered. “How? You don’t have any classes together yet?”

Taako wordlessly held up his phone in explanation. “I can tell you’re still puffin’ smoke out your ears; either it was a vape trick gone wrong or something else happened.”

Magnus gave an over dramatic sigh. “Kalen,” He started as Taako slammed his phone onto the desk.

“No!” Taako gasped dramatically.

“Yeah,” Magnus nodded. “Dress coded Jules in the hallway, super creepy about it too.”

“Want me to tell, Merle?” Taako offered with a small shrug as a new figure approached their table. Magnus hoped it wasnt Lucas, he wasn't in this class but Magnus wouldn't put it past him. Instead, Avi leaned up against their table.

“No, I mean like Merle knows,” Magnus started, giving a small nod to Avi who sat down across from him. “But if you are going to see him today I wouldn’t discourage you from mentioning it, you know?”

Taako nodded, slowly turning his attention back to his text conversation with Lup.

“What’s up?” Avi asked, a concerned look on his face.

“Local creep Kalen is being a creep,” Taako answered eloquently.

“To Julia?”

“Yeah,” Magnus nodded, he needed to stop thinking about this before he got so angry he couldn’t think. Luckily enough, class started up pretty soon after.  
As Magnus pulled out his blue ELA binder, the phone at the front of the room rang. The teacher answered it with a very bemused tone.

“Yes? Yes he’s here. Yeah I’ll send him right up,” The teacher hung up the phone with a sigh. “Taako?” But Taako was already halfway to the door, all his stuff gathered in his tote bag.

__

Taako wasn’t excited to see Merle- or uh Mr. Highchurch, but he also wasn’t excited to be in Language Arts either so it was pretty much a lose-lose. He walked through the hall, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone when someone slammed into him.

“Hey, dude!” He exclaimed, gathering his dropped phone. “Watch i-”

“Oh I’m sorry!” Lucas cooed. “Did I run into you?” He laughed humorlessly. “Whoops.”  
Taako had to physically restrain himself from grabbing Lucas by the ankles and taking him to pain town, but he managed to gather his things and stand up in peace.

“Oh?” Taako reached out and grabbed a lock of hair on the side of Lucas’s head. “Didn’t realize burnt-boy was such a clutz,” Taako scoffed as he turned on his heel and strode into the office complex.

On instinct his legs carried him to Merle’s office but as soon as he was about to open the door, it was pulled open from the inside and out walked Mr. Highchurch himself.

“Hey, Merle-”

“Mr. Highchurch,” He interrupted.

“We not meeting in your office?” Taako continued, ignoring the correction.

“Nope, we’re seeing Dav, got some job recommendation or something.”

Taako nodded, slightly surprised, but followed Merle into the principal’s office.

__

Lucas knew one of the Wonder Brats were guaranteed to be offered the job with him, of course Kalen had already told him what it was. It was some after school babysitting gig, state mandated to the school. It didn’t even pay well though, Lucas was uninterested, but he’d fight for it just to keep the job out of the Wonder Brat’s hands.

Then, Taako strolled up, self assured as ever. He was looking at his phone with other hand on his bag strap. Lucas threw himself right in front of him.

“Hey, dude!” He cried, bending down to pick up his fallen phone. “Watch i-”

“Oh I’m sorry!” Lucas cut him off, “Did I run into you?”

Lucas let out an obviously fake laugh. “Whoops.”

He watched Taako roll his eyes with contempt as he stood back up. Lucas didn’t resist the smirk forming on his face.

“Oh?” Taako tilted his head as he grabbed a signed piece of hair on the side of Lucas’s head. “Didn’t realize burnt-boy was such a clutz.” He dramatically let the hair go as he pivoted and strode into the office.  
Lucas couldn’t help but exhale through his teeth. He hated them just...so much. Suddenly, he felt the weight of a hand on his shoulder.

“I would’ve had to report that,” Kalen remarked. “You have to be more careful, Lucas.”  
Lucas side stepped out of Kalen’s touch and turned to face him.

“Isn’t my fault! Honestly he was right there! And after the stunt his other half pulled this morning he was practically-”

“I know what he deserves, Miller,” Kalen snapped, a harsh edge resonating in his voice. “Just be more careful next time.”

Lucas gave a respectful nod and followed Kalen into the office. Taako walked side by side with his counsellor, Mr. Highchurch. Who he obviously had no respect for since he only ever referred to him by his first name. Regardless, Lucas and Kalen followed them into the principal’s office, absolutely positive that Lucas was a shoe-in for this job.

__

Davenport pinched the bridge of his nose as Lucrecia knocked gently on the door to his office.

“Yes?” He called.

Lucrecia stuck her head through the small crack in the door, “You’re to meet with Mr. Highchurch and Mr. Kalen,” She paused, glancing at her watch. “About now, sir.”

“Thank you, Lucrecia,” Davenport nodded to himself as Lucrecia closed the door. God this meeting was going to be tense, he already knew. Merle and Kalen hated each other and Lucas and Taako hated each other and each kid hated the other’s counselor and it was just a whole mess. But a mess Davenport had to stay unbiased to, be definition of his job.

The door slid open again, this time Merle stuck his head inside.

“You ready for us, sir?”

Davenport cleared his throat in preparation and gave a silent nod. Lucas and Kalen smugly followed the pair he actually liked in. Merle and Taako looked past the point of caring which, Davenport supposed, wasn’t much of a change. What was a change, however, was the look of absolute rage in Kalen’s usually cold eyes. It would’ve been startling had Davenport not worked with him for so long. Regardless, he set these thoughts aside and continued on with his job.

“So the state has reached out to us as one of the only high schools in the area with advanced classes to house a gifted child who is currently in the custody of the state,” Davenport explained, trying not to look at Taako. He knew the situation Taako was in at one point was very similar. “They need someone to watch him after school, in the school building, until a social worker can come collect him to take him back to his place of residence. I called you two in here to offer this job to because of how active you are in after school activities and because you both had a recommendation from your counselor.”

Davenport watched Lucas and Taako’s faces very carefully for a reaction, Lucas seemed...almost bored, meanwhile Taako was now sitting up straight, ears perked forward. Lucas timidly opened his mouth to speak when Taako cut in.

“Yeah, I mean I’d love to!” Taako chirped. As far as Davenport could tell, he seemed genuinely excited.

“Well, okay! It’s set then!” Davenport smiled. “He starts attending classes here next week, so after this weekend!”

Kalen stood up suddenly and placed a hand on Lucas’s shoulder, silently they both walked out. Davenport couldn’t resist an eye roll he was sure Merle saw. Taako stood up also, probably excited to share the news with his twin.

“Thank you, Mr. Davenport!” He called from the door as he pushed it open. But Taako hesitated before fully exiting. He turned back to Davenport, head cocked slightly. “What’s this kid’s name, Dav?”

Davenport laughed slightly at the informality now that the other two had left the room.

“His name, I believe, is Angus.”


	3. kalen's always watching

After he was less than two steps away from the front office, he was texting Lup.

K0K0:  
Guess who just picked up a Side Hustle

Lulu:  
Certainly not my sweet twin brother who Magnus  
just told me got called to the office.

K0K0:  
Yeah it was that loser

Lulu:  
So what’s the gig? You sell weed now?  
We do got Robs for that,,

K0K0:  
Nah  
Got a gig watching some genius kid in  
the System after school,,beat L*cas to it too

Lulu:  
Really? A kid in the System?  
Jeez not really flying under the radar are we?

K0K0:  
How was i supposed to say no! besides l*cas will never know  
and! if he does, we can always just kill him

Lulu:  
Don’t joke about that, K*len’s always watching

And sure enough, as Taako looked up from his phone, there loomed Mr. Kalen.

“Taako,” He cleared his throat. “Shouldn’t you be headed back to class?”

“Oh!” Taako exclaimed, shoving his phone back into his bag. “I forgot I need to tell Mer- Mr. Highchurch something!”

“In that case, why don’t you just tell me?” Kalen smiled. “I can relay the message and you can head back to class quicker.”  
Taako weighed his options in an instant. He could tell Kalen and maybe piss him off more, but with no guarantee the message would reach Merle, or he could just go tell Merle but not get the satisfaction of the smug grin wiped off Kalen’s dumb face. He bit his lip indecisively. And decided to do both.

“I’m sorry Mr. Kalen, it's a fragile matter. Apparently an administrator made a female student very uncomfortable in the hallway,” Taako shrugged, feigning innocence.

“I’m just passing along a message.”

And sure enough, the evil smile faded from Kalen’s face. Taako’s eyes lit up with grim satisfaction as he turned back towards the front office doors.

“That sounds important,” He scowled. “Why don’t you let me handle it.”

Kalen reached out to grab Taako’s arm as he reached for the door. Taako whipped back around to face him.

“No,” Taako seethed. “I think you’ve done enough.”

He made a move to escape Kalen’s grasp but he had too tight a grip. Kalen stepped towards him as Taako glared.

“Watch yourself, mister,” Kalen chided.

Taako wretched his arm free from Kalen with a grunt.

“Is that a threat?” He spat through clenched teeth. Just then, with almost miraculous timing, Merle waddled out of the office. He took one look at the situation before turning cheerily to Kalen.

“Howdy, Kalen! Mind if I wrestle my student away from you for a minute?” He smiled.

“It’s no bother, I have to be getting back to work anyway,” Kalen huffed, walking into the front office. Merle dropped the phoney smile from his face and made a face of disgust.

“Come on, kid,” Merle motioned to the hallway as he set out with Taako back to his class.

“How much did you catch?”

“Not much, just Kalen’s thinly veiled threats,” Merle laughed.

“Psh,” Taako scoffed. “I could take ‘em. But anyway, he came up to Jules again in the hallway.”

Merle let out a long sigh. “Yeah? What’d he do?”

“Nothing terrible, just dress coded her. Apparently super weird about it too,” Taako shrugged. “Don’t we have enough to get him fired yet?”

“School’s so brutally understaffed, we couldn’t afford to replace him.”

Taako huffed as they walked back to class. He got weird looks from underclassmen who saw him walking so informally with an administrator but, to be honest, he got those looks from his friends too. It didn’t bother Taako, as much as he got in trouble, Merle knew he was a good guy. As they got to the door, Merle reached up and swung it open for Taako who gave him a peace sign as a goodbye and strode into the room.

__

State was next week so of course Barry had almost finished his project. The teacher would choose 3 students to represent the school in the competition, and right now it looked like Julia and Avi were shoe-in’s. Barry was gunning for that 3rd spot but he knew he’d have to beat Miller to it.

“Hey, Barold,” Lucas scoffed as he passed Barry on the way to his work station. He had just been called out of class Barry was tempted to ask why when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He set down his tools and reached for his pocket.  
The text was from a group chat that someone had named “Bureau of Bada$$”. The text was from Taako that just read:

TaakoFromTV:  
Nerd-Kid Lucas lost out on some $$$ to ‘chaboy, feel free to rub it in his face.

Barry laughed under his breath a little as his table partner checked her phone. Him and Julia met eyes as she gave a small shake of her head. Her look spoke volumes of, these doofus’s and Barry couldn’t disagree so he merely replied with a snort and a shrug.  
Turning back to their work, Barry noticed a small note ever so gently leaned against his prototype drone. Lucas and his obsession with those stupid notes. Barry rolled his eyes as he elbowed Julia next to him, reaching for the note. He held it between them as they both read it.

_im coming for your spot, bluejeans, and tell your wife and brother-in-law not to be such snitches. he didn’t even do anything to you, drama queen, no need to get Highchurch involved._  
_also grow up, Waxmen._

Next to him, he heard Julia’s breath quicken in the silent classroom. Barry whipped around to Lucas, sitting at the table next to him and beamed the tiny paper at his head. Lucas’s hand snapped to the back of his head before turning to face Barry.  
“Hey, bud,” Barry whispered through gritted teeth. “If you’re gonna threaten someone do it in person, coward.”  
His eyebrows furrowed under his goggles as he scoffed and turned back to working on some electrical panel. Barry turned his attention back to Julia who was staring at nothing, her hand in a tight fist around her shirt by her collar. He laid a hand softly on the arm still on the desk, noticing her jump a little at his touch.  
“You’re okay, Julia,” Barry soothed. “You’re gonna be okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter, things start to ramp up next chapter so be prepared >:)


	4. dont mess with Lup, Taako's never far behind

Engineering ending without any more interruptions from Lucas, or anyone else for that matter. The silent, working, classroom was only peppered with compliments instructor, mostly directed towards Avi. For the last 10 or so minutes Barry found himself absently staring at his project, it was almost lunch and he had reached a point where no changes could be made until he had the opportunity to test it. Next to him, Julia worked furiously, looking up only to ask him his thoughts on a design choice or to triple check a formula. 

As class was ending, Barry watched Lucas vehemently as Julia packed up behind him. Lucas didn’t look back at him before Julia finished up, she tapped his arm lightly, signaling them to walk out. Their friends should be waiting outside the class by now, ready to walk to lunch together. And sure enough as they walked out Magnus was there to wrap Julia up in a big spinning hug. Lup sauntered up to Barry and slung an arm protectively over his shoulders. 

Barry was turned to face his beautiful girlfriend when Lucas strode out of the classroom, a coy smirk on his stupid face. Lup turned them to face him as he forcefully grabbed Julia’s arm. He opened his mouth to say something but Barry knew he wouldn’t get the chance. As soon as Julia gasped, Magnus slammed his shoulder into Lucas as Julia pulled away, sending him tumbling back. He landed on the floor with a rage in his eyes. 

“Oh you’re through for that, Burnsides,” He growled. 

He made a move to get up and everyone in the group tensed. Lup pulled her arm off Barry and took a preemptive step towards Lucas. And out of the mass of students moving to their next class, out stepped the Hammerheads, Lucas’s little toadies. 

Magnus, Lup, and Julia watched with fierce faces as Maarvey stepped up past Lucas and towards Magnus. Maarvey gave his a nasty shove but Magnus didn’t even flinch. Lucas scrambled up behind Marrv as the other two Hammerheads flanked him. 

“You lookin’ for a fight, Burnsides?” Maarvey cooed, cocking his head tauntingly. Magnus stood silently, placing a protective arm across his girlfriend next to him. Maarvey laughed. “Come on, playboy, do somethin’.” 

Barry watched with bitter anticipation as Maarv changed his gaze to Julia, and Barry had to bite back a laugh. This was gonna turn into a fight for sure. Maarvey eyed up Julia before ever so slightly sticking a hand out to push her. 

Magnus dove in with the first punch, right to Maarvey’s unsuspecting face. As Maarvey staggered backwards, clasping his nose, the other two charged. Barry watched his girlfriend with amazed horror as she  _ laughed _ and dove after Little Jerry who’s face changed from reckless courage to absolute fear in an instant. 

Barry took a step back, away from the fighting to make sure he could have his story straight when Davenport inevitably asked. He watched as Magnus lunged towards Maarvey who now looked as if he had murder in his eyes. Magnus kicked his legs out from under him and shoved him down as he fell. On the other side, Julia kneed Jerry in the stomach and shoved his nose onto her knee as he doubled over. She gave him a shove as he topled to the ground. 

Turning his attention back to his girlfriend he watched in horror as Little Jerry gave her a swift kick to the shins, causing her to double over. He grabbed her hair and yanked it upward, and pushed his palm up to her nose. A sickening  _ crack _ rang out in the hallway. Everyone froze. They knew what was about to happen. Little Jerry had a stupid grin plastered on his face as he watched Lup fall to the ground, crying and whimpering, clutching her nose as Maarvey and Jerry both were. 

Taako appeared behind Little Jerry in an instant. He kicked hard behind his knees and as Little Jerry fell Taako let out a yell. 

“ _ Never touch my sister again, you  _ **_freak!_ ** ”

Taako gave him a swift kick to the ribs, followed by another, and another, and another. Every kick causing the Jerry on the floor to give a small whimper, which soon turned to small scream. Magnus ran up behind him, grabbing Taako around the torso and pulling him off Little Jerry. Taako kicked and pushed against Magnus. 

“Let  **_go of me_ ** !” He screamed. But Magnus stood steadfast, holding him tightly as Taako kicked and thrashed against his chest. He soon wore himself out and slumped against Magnus’s chest and giving a small sigh. 

“Thanks, big guy,” Taako sighed reluctantly. He felt Magnus’s arms release him and he staggered to the ground before running to his sister. She was up now, propped up against Barry who had her arm slung over his shoulders. She gave a small laugh as Taako walked over and offered him a weak high five. 

“We’re totally screwed aren’t we?” She coughed out. 

Taako gave her a small, sad smile. “Yeah, probably. Davenport have mercy on us.” 

“Here they are,” a sniveling voice cut through the tender moments around them. Magnus turned with a start away from his girlfriend who’s hands he was holding almost sacredly. “And as you can see, Mr. Kalen, they were obviously ambushed.”

Everyone’s hearts stopped in an instant as the Hammerheads all scrambled up and took their places behind Lucas and Kalen. 

“You ran from the fight  _ you _ started,” Magnus huffed. “Coward.” 

“I didn’t run, I reported your assault to the proper authorities,” Lucas bit back. 

“All of you, my office. Now.” Kalen ordered as Lucas and his possey turned on their heels to follow them. Lucretia spoke up from the back. 

“Shouldn’t we go to Davenport?” She asked cautiously. “This seems serious.” 

Kalen huffed. “Maybe, we’ll ask if he can even be bothered with this,” He dismissed with a wave of his hand. 

 

—

 

Davenport and Merle watched from the window of his office as the most problematic kids in the school all walked into the office at the same time:  Lucas, Jerry, Jerry L., Maarvey, Magnus, Taako, Lup, Barry, Avi, Lucretia, Julia. All at once, in his office. It took only a moment longer of observation to see the number of bruises and bloodied noses before Davenport rose from his chair with a grunt. He opened the door, catching everyone’s attention. 

“Yeah, all of you in my office please.” 

As they all shuffled into his office, Davenport made eye contact with Kalen who had this look of dark contentment for someone walking in a bunch of injured kids. 

“Ok I’m not gonna ask what happened because it was very obviously a-” Davenport started, clearing his throat. 

“If I can explain si-” Lucas cut in. 

“How can you explain you weren’t even there!” Lup exclaimed around her bloodied hand. 

“ _ Enough! _ ” Kalen exclaimed from the back of the crowded office. 

“Thank you, Mr. Kalen but I will be running the meeting from here on out,” Davenport retorted, not skipping a beat. He pinched the bridge of his nose slightly before looking back up at the kids gathered in his office. “Okay, I’m gonna call you in in pairs to tell me your side of the story. Lucas since you seem to have such an opinion, you and Maarvey can go first. Everyone else, go wait in the hall.” 

—

 

Magnus fumed as they sat on the floor in the hall outside of Davenport’s office. He held Julia’s hand close to his thigh on the floor as he started down Kalen who was pacing in front of them and stealing occasional glances at Julia. 

Merle was also walking up and down the line of students, tending to wounds and broken noses since he doubled as the nurse. A couple  _ pop _ ’s rang through the silent hallway followed by small yelps as Merle set both Maarvey and Jerry’s noses back into place. He knelt down next to Lup to examine her nose. She winced as he grazed his fingers against it, cautiously. 

“Yup, it’s broken,” He declared. 

“Well I could’ve told ya  _ that _ .” Lup mused, grasping her hip slightly. 

“I’m gonna have to reset it, Lup, it’s gonna hurt.” 

Lup gave a shrug, grasping Barry’s hand tighter. “Do what ya gotta do.”

“Ok,” He sighed. “On three. One, two, thr-”

A small snap echoed through the hall as Lup sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. Merle ran his hand across her nose a little more, checking for additional fractures. Next to her, Taako stared at the wall, unwavering. When Merle moved to him to ask about injuries he just shook his head. With a small shrug, Merle moved to Magnus. 

“I assume you didn’t get hit too badly?” 

“No, sir,” Magnus grunted. “I think that’s the worst of it.” 

“Uh sir?” Jerry piped up from the end of the line. “Lil’ Jerry’s hurting real bad.” And as Merle waddled over to look, sure enough, Little Jerry laid in a ball on the floor clutching his stomach, crying softly. 

Lucas and Maarvey walked out of Davenport’s office, smug looks on both of their faces as they turned to Magnus and Julia. 

“Dav wants you,” Lucas sneered as he walked by. 

Closing the door softly behind them, Magnus and Julia entered Davenport’s office to find his in the same position they left him, hunched over his desk, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Ok…” He nodded slowly. “Stop me when you disagree with something but here’s the story I have so far; You attacked Maarvey over a ‘playful shove’?”

“No- well- I uh...I mean he was being intentionally threatening, sir,” Magnus stuttered. “He shoved me twice and then made a move towards Julia and so I…”

“And so you decked him?” Davenport finished. Magnus gave a shy nod, blushing slightly. “And then, ‘all hell broke loose’? They said that, Julia, you broke Jerry’s nose and shoved him to the floor after knocking the wind out of him. And that you, Magnus, broke Maarvey’s nose with a punch before kicking his legs out and also shoving him to the ground meanwhile Lup beat up Little Jerry?” 

“To be fair, sir,” Julia piped up. “Both Jerry and Little Jerry charged us after Magnus defended himself..and uh me? And Lup actually got the snot kicked out of her, Little Jerry broke her nose and bruised her hip pretty good.” 

“And then...Taako proceeded to ‘take Little Jerry to pain town?’ And you, Magnus, had to get Taako off of him?” 

Magnus gave another nod. 

“Anything else I need to know?” Davenport sighed, for about the hundredth time this hour alone. 

“This al…well it all started ‘cause Lucas grabbed Julia outside the engineering lab.” 

“Grabbed as in how?” Davenport asked, panic rising slightly in his voice. 

“Just on the arm!” Julia sputtered. 

Davenport leaned back in the chair a little. 

“Thanks you two, send in the twins will you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> almost at 200 hits!! Thank you guys sm!!


	5. breathe, Taako, breathe

As Magnus and Julia walked out of his office, Davenport truly didn’t think his day was going to get any worse. That was before Merle burst into his office. Normally, Merle was a welcome, friendly face, but now the look on his face portrayed nothing but pure bewilderment.

“Gods, Merle,” Dav sighed. “What happened to  _ you? _ ”

Merle took a deep breath in and shook his head slightly. “Dav, Taako broke Little Jerry’s ribs.”

Davenport let a long sigh out in the pause that followed. 

“ _ Or _ !” Merle continued. “At the very least, severely bruised them.”

“Are you kidding me?” Dav sputtered, exasperated. “From what I can tell, the Hammerheads started the fight but  _ still _ !”

Merle nodded. “You’re going to have to call home on probably all of these kids.”

A small knock echoed through the tense office. Taako popped his head in through a small crack in the door. 

“You ready for us, Dav?”

Davenport felt his heart drop in his chest. “Yeah, Taako. Come on in” 

Seeing the look on his principal’s face as he walked in, Taako mindlessly reached for his sister’s hand. The twins took their seats in front of the principal and they knew the same thought was racing through both of their minds. Davenport was going to have to call home on them, but he’d have nowhere to call.

For the past two years the twins have lived with their friends, alternating whatever house will hold them every few weeks. They left the system at age 14, scamming the system in typical Taaco twins fashion. The twins had run until the system stopped chasing them. They forged paperwork and wrote fake residency papers, just convincing enough to scam the school. Everytime one would get in trouble, the other would pick up the phone, pretending to be a guardian. That trick wouldn’t work this time. 

Lup shoved her free hand under her thigh as he reached out towards her brother, gently intertwining her fingers with his. Their hands knit together so tightly their knuckles turned white. They were shaking, and Lup couldn’t tell whose hands it was. In front of her, Taako’s leg bounced restlessly. 

“Gods, you two,” Davenport broke the silence. It took everything in her not to jump. He stole a quick glance at the door before lowering his voice and continuing. “You  _ know _ I’m rooting for you two, but I can’t play favorites in a scenario like this. The story is pretty straight that you guys acted in self defence, I can give you that. But Taako? You broke someone’s  _ ribs _ . I have to call home for that.”

Taako’s chest collapsed in him. They were going to get put back into the system. They would take them out of this school, away from their  _ friends _ . His breath hitched as he stared blankly past Davenport. His chest rose and fell in irregularly short beats. A piercing pain struck through his chest as his heart thundered. From somewhere far away, he felt Lup clasp a shaking hand on top of his. 

“Sir?” Lup stammered. “We need Merle in here right now. He can calm Taako down.” 

“Oh right uh sure...Merle?!” Davenport called. The door slammed open with surprising force as a small figure appeared in the doorway.

“Wh-” Merle started as he raced towards Davenport’s desk. Davenport wordlessly motioned to Taako. “Oh gods. I...uh...I- okay.”

Lup watched as Mr. Highchurch set to work, kneeling in front of her brother. He gently shushed Taako as he slowly reached for his hand, his eyes closing slowly. Merle closed his hands over Taako’s, silently mouthing an incantation. Lup watched Taako slowly blink as his breathing evened out. She didn’t stop the audible sigh of relief that came when he weakly squeezed her hand. His eyes focused in on Merle who finished his incantation and gave Taako a warm and soft smile.

“Calm Emotions?” Taako croaked out.

“Yup, just like we talked about,” Merle nodded, not letting go of Taako’s still jittery hand. He turned to a still reeling Dav. “Mind if I stay in here for the rest of the meeting, Dav?” 

Davenport stared at him blankly, slowing processing the events that had just transpired. He slowly shook his head before coming back into himself and giving a decisive shake of his head. 

“No, Merle, feel free to stay.”

Merle gave a small nod before waddling over to the chair on the other side of Taako. 

“Okay, I’m going to call your guardian, but I don’t think this will result in any further disciplinary action or go on your permanent record in any way,” Davenport explained, gaining only small, forced nods from the twins.

He rustled through files in his desk, he always had the twins’ on hand. He pulled out Taako’s and searched for the contact number. With a sigh he began to dial it on the phone on his desk. Davenport picked up the phone, ready to deal with a crying or screaming guardian, but it rang for an uncomfortably long time before another phone in his office rang. He looked between the twins, both of their faces twisted with worry. Lup silently pulled out her phone and Davenport watched her as the automated voice in his ear told him to leave a voicemail. He furrowed his brows, the details starting to come together, even though he refused to admit it. 

He dug some more for Lup’s file, finding some small solace in the fact the number listed was different than the one he just dialed. He cautiously punched the new numbers into the phone and slowly lifted it to his ear as he watched the antsy twins in front of him. The phone rang once before Taako pulled out his phone. He stared at it for a long moment before looking at Davenport and back at his ringing phone. Davenports face morphed into one of worry and denial. This could not be happening. Dav watched as Taako tapped the screen with shaking hands. The phone went to voicemail again. 

“No…” Davenport muttered, searching the documents for an email or a backup number. There was nothing to be found. He looked up at the twins, searching for them to refute the conclusion he was slowly coming to. “You...you  _ can’t _ b-” 

In a sudden frenzy he scanned over both documents, searching for a home address to mail to.  _ Nothing. _ Davenport slammed his fists down on the desk, causing the twins to jump.

“Dammit!” He exclaimed, running his hands through his fiery red hair.

He shut his eyes tightly and took 3 deliberate deep breaths before looking back at the twins. Taako refused to make eye contact, he was staring right past Davenport, tears threatening to fall from the corners of his eyes. Lup, however, was staring dead at him, glaring him down; using anger to mask the fear he could see both behind her eyes and in her peeled back ears. 

Davenport stood up abruptly, startling everyone in the room and threw the door open. He scanned the crowd outside of the room, they had all heard the exclamation. He saw Magnus and Julia, both of their eyes wide with fear, as well as Barry who looked like he was physically restraining himself from bolting into the office. He kept scanning, past the pouting, remaining members of the Hammerheads, to Lucas who stood against the wall, smug as always. Davenport pointed a finger towards him. 

“I need help finding a student’s record,” He barked. “They should be in the front office, right?” Lucas gave a quick nod before practically spriting off, leaving Davenport to catch up.

He went as fast as his small frame could carry him and when he got to the office, Lucas had already pulled out the twins records going back to their freshman year. Davenport shooed him aside as he flipped through. Last year: no recorded place of residency. Freshman year: no place of residency. Their last recorded place of residency was an orphanage their 8th grade year. From over his shoulder, he heard a surprised laugh. Davenport turned with a start to see Lucas intently reading the  _ confidential  _ files.

“You  _ forget _ yourself, Miller!” Davenport exclaimed, causing Lucas to take a startled step back. “Don’t make me call your mother.”

Lucas paled visibly at the threat. “Y-yes, sir,” And with that he turned silently and stalked out of the room. 

Davenport couldn't help but stare at the blank spaces on the files. Those empty lines held so much weight, but nothing was to be done until after school. So he composed himself and walked back to his office.


	6. taako had the right to throw at least a little bit of a fit

Lucas couldn’t help but feel high and mighty. He’d done it. He found the thing that would take the twins down, for good. He strode into the hallway of offices, passing all the sad saps from the fight earlier.  _ Oh yeah _ , he thought. There’d been a fight he cared so much about.  _ Huh. _ He couldn’t help himself from flashing Bluejeans a dark smile as he walked by. 

He pushed open the door to Kalen’s office without remorse, Mr. Kalen long since retiring from his post watching the kids in the hallway. The counselor perked up and his face contorted with a blooming anger Lucas well recognized. 

“ _ Mr. Miller! _ ” Kalen fumed. “Have you lost yo-”

Lucas cut him off, knowing his anger would subside after the news. 

“They should be in the custody of the state,” He gloated. “The twins, that is. They have no legal guardian.”

He watched in awed horror as Kalen’s face twisted from one of pure malice to a cruel and humorless smile. Lucas couldn’t help but smile back. 

 

__

 

Taako was staring at his sister when the gnome re-entered the room. His gaze shifted to meet Davenport’s and his sister gave him a supportive squeeze of the hand. Davenport just looked dejected. He scoffed and gave a small sigh.

“Your long con didn’t exactly work out,” He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. “Look, guys, I have to call CPS. You can’t just keep going without a legal guardian. But, it won't be until the end of the day and hell if I care you can hang out with Merle for ‘support’ all day if you want.”

Taako stared straight ahead at Davenport. “I-I can’t, Dav. I can’t go back to another foster home. We...We knew we were gonna age out of the system,” Taako shook his head lightly. “Please don’t do this.”

Davenport’s heart lurched inside of his chest. He’d never seen Taako this vulnerable. It killed him inside.

“Taako, I…” He started, but he just couldn’t find the words. “I have to. I’m legally obligated to report things like this.” 

The silence in the room hung heavy on them. Next to him, Taako heard Lup sniff. He turned in time to see her brush a tear away. He couldn’t help but tighten his grip on her hand as he stood abruptly. 

“I think it’s lunch time, Mr. Davenport.” Taako observed. Davenport’s face registered some small shock at the formality but he began to nod.

“Yes, I think the normalcy of lunch would be welcome,” Davenport agreed as he watched Taako and Lup collect their stuff and silently leave the office.

Magnus was the first person Taako saw as he exited the office. The fear was clear on his face, it only took a nod from Taako to confirm his suspicions. Lup released her brother’s hand as she practically ran to her boyfriend and buried her head in his shoulder. Taako could hear her small cries but said nothing about it as he faced the rest of his friends.

“Let’s get some lunch,” He smiled, but there was no joy behind it. He turned to walk out of the office, and everyone followed.

The walk to lunch was quiet and harsh. Thoughts beat at the back of Taako’s mind as they walked into the bustling cafeteria. Across the room the door to the outside flew open. Drawn to the noise, Taako looked over. Big mistake. Kravitz stood in the doorway, winded from running from their normal eating spot by the parking lot. Taako’s heart fell to his feet as he watched Kravitz’s panicked face turn to a warm smile. He didn’t stop himself from running over. 

Kravitz held his arms out as Taako collided into them and Kravitz lifted him a few inches off the ground. He set his boyfriend back down, smoothing out his blouse and searching his face for any emotion. But it was blank, except for a plastered on fake smile. Krav instantly knew something was wrong.

“What happened?” He blurted as the rest of the group caught up. Taako refused to meet his eyes, but instead gave a sad smile and shook his head. So Kravitz took his hand and walked in silence with him to their regular lunch spot. 

As they sat down, everything felt quiet and wrong. Magnus wasn’t playing with his food or being scolded by Julia for trying to start food fights. Barry wasn’t furiously explaining his latest breakthrough or gushing about Lup. Lucrecia wasn’t gossiping about Lucas or filling them in on after school activities. It all felt  _ wrong _ . And Taako was sure everyone noticed, but they continued to eat in silence. 

Lup cleared her throat, sitting up from leaning against Barry. 

“I...uh...we have something to tell you guys,” She started, looking to Taako for comfort. But his face was frozen in fear.

“Lulu,  _ don’t _ ,” He cautioned. 

“They deserve to know!”

“Deserve to know wh-” Magnus interjected. 

“ _ Stop! _ ” Taako exclaimed. “Stop it right now!” 

“We-” Lup began.

“ **_No!_ ** ” Taako screamed.  “ _ No!  _ No!”

Kravitz put a hand on his shoulder. “Taako, please, talk to u-”

Taako side-stepped out of Kravitz’s touch. “No!”

“Stop acting like a  _ toddler _ , Taako!” Lup shouted. “These are our friends! Say something more than ‘no’!”

Taako crossed his arms and stared into the parking lot next to them. “Do whatever you want.”

Lup’s breath turned shallow as a lump formed in her throat. Now she really felt alone. She turned to Barry who was still holding her hand, a small smile on his face, and she turned back to face the group. 

“Dav found out about us escaping the system. CPS will be here by the end of the day so…” Her voice trailed off into a high pitched babble.

“So we could be transferred out of state, out of this city, out of this school. Who knows,” Taako finished, not bothering to look at the group. “So this is like...the end I guess.”

Taako shot a glance to Kravitz, expecting a comforting look or a sympathetic smile. But he just stood there in stunned silence, clutching the hand Taako had yanked himself away from. Had Taako had half a brain, he would’ve apologized or hugged him or done anything. But he didn’t. He stared at him in equally as stunned silence, and felt as alone as the day they had met. 

Across the circle Lup had a similar sensation. She turned to Barry, desperate for something to ground her, to assure her. But he was gone. Scanning the courtyard behind them wildly, she eventually saw him sitting up against the lone tree, back towards the group. And she couldn’t urge her body to move to him. 


	7. "ew feelings" -Taako & Lup

Taako left his friends. He walked right inside and marched himself down the hallway to Merle’s office. He didn’t even knock when he got there. Merle jumped as Taako threw open the door and slammed it behind him.

“Hey, kiddo?” Merle coaxed sympathetically. “What’s up?”

“They...uh...I?” Taako stuttered. 

“It’s ok, buddy,” Merle nodded, getting up from his desk to guide a stunned Taako into a chair. 

“Ugh!” Taako exclaimed before bursting into tears. 

Merle couldn’t help but gasp, which he was sure wasn’t going to make this any better, but it was shocking. He’d never seen Taako show this much unabashed emotion. 

“Do it!” The boy yelled, again, startling Merle. He grabbed Merle’s hands and clasped them over his own. “ _ Please _ .” 

“Whoa, Taako,” Merle whispered. “Slow  _ down _ . Tell me what happened.” 

“It’s over, Merle,” He muttered. “I’m never going to see them again.” 

Merle couldn’t help but wrap his arms around him. He had no assuring words, no promise things were going to work out or be all okay. “I’m so sorry, Taako.”

He didn’t try to bring himself to say anything, Taako just let himself be held. And he cried. 

Lup had stalked after her brother when he furiously walked away. She couldn’t bring herself to look at her boyfriend as she passed, refusing to let the tears forming in her eyes fall. She’d waited outside Merle’s office, arms crossed as she heard her brother scream and sob. The tears rolled down her cheeks then. 

Not wanting to cause a bigger scene than was already going on, Lup quietly opened and shut the door. It wasn’t until she saw Taako looking up at her that it felt real for the first time. He looked terrible. Like he’d held a week's worth on emotion up for this moment. Lup wouldn’t be surprised if he had, but his eyes were completely bloodshot and puffy. Snot dropped grossly from his sniveling nose as he furrowed his brows at her. 

“What do you want?” He growled. 

“Taako, I-” She fumbled for words. “I’m sorry. I had no right to do that if you weren’t ready.” 

“You’re right!” He laughed. It was piercing and so unlike him, it set Lup on edge. “You didn’t have the right! 

Lup felt her blood start to boil. “You know what? Maybe I don’t feel sorry! Gods know you weren’t gonna do it on your own. You’d sooner leave them in the dark until you disappeared!”

“Shut  _ up! _ ” He screamed. “You act like you know what I would’ve done when you didn’t even ask what I wanted! You just act! Like always! You act on impulse to get a reaction! Grow  _ up _ , Lup!”

“Says the boy who ran to the only adult who cares about him to  _ cry! _ ”

“Hey! Hey!” Merle broke in. “Stop it! Both of you! Don’t make me get Davenport.”

“Hasn’t he done enough?” Taako mumbled. 

Lup shot up from where she had started to sit. “Don’t you dare!” She shouted. “He’s one of the only people in this stupid school who fought for us!”

“And look where it’s gotten us!”

“Stop blaming things on people who didn’t have a choice, Taako,” She spat. 

“As if you didn’t have a choice. You were fully in control of what you did.”

The door opened slowly, with a sort of resignation. 

“Merle, I can’t foc-” The small frame looks up from staring at the floor to the hectic scene in front of him. The two twins, standing up, inches away from each other with Merle in between them trying to intervene. 

“Oh!” Merle smiled cautiously. “Hey, Dav…”

“Wh-” Davenport pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “Listen you two, I  _ promise _ I will fight for the best option for you, whatever that may be. Now, Merle, may I speak to you in private for a moment?” 

Taako didn’t care what Davenport had to say to Merle. It could’ve involved life and death and Taako would’ve gone out there. He merely turned from his sister and sat down. Something vibrated under his leg. Oh right, cell phones exist. His screen was full of notifications from the Bureau of Bada$$ group chat. 

 

Mr. Burnsides:

Hey bro? Y’all good? 

I mean,,,your obv not good but like,,

ya know 

 

Mrs. Burnsides:

yeah you stormed off pretty much at the worst time. 

love ya though

 

Madame Director:

I’m sure they’re fine, Davenport gave them leave to

hang with Mr. Highchurch for the rest of the day. 

 

Mr. Burnsides: 

what a terrible way to get out of class

mr. science:

they would’ve ended up there anyway

 

Taako didn’t have the heart to keep scrolling. He set his phone back into his bag and turned to his still fuming sister. 

“Lulu?” 

She whipped around to face him, eyes still alight. “ _ What? _ ” She seethed.

“It’s just…” Taako paused.  _ Ew,  _ he thought,  _ guess it’s time to be vulnerable. _ “I’m… I’m so scared.”

Her face softened almost instantly. She made no moves to get up or console her brother in any way, she just looked away, almost embarrassed.  

“Yeah, I am too.”


	8. less than ideal

By the time the social worker got there, Taako had come to grips with the reality of the situation. The world was ending. As he knew it, that was, but nevertheless ending. Lup on the other hand, stayed in an inconsolable rage for the rest of the day spend in Merle’s office. It was quiet and subdued but Taako could see it silently seething behind her eyes, threatening to lash out at any second. 

They stayed in tense silence for the rest of the day, Merle going in and out as his job demanded but when Davenport walked in with a serious look, the tense silence turned deadly. They followed the gnome as he led them to his office where an unfamiliar human face stood by his desk, a pleasant smile on her face. Lup’s attention was immediately turned to the other person in the room, a familiar human face, Kalen. She didn’t even try to bite back her words. 

“Why is  _ he _ here?” She scoffed. 

“This is serious, Lup,” Davenport replies calmly, his very voice soothing their nerves ever so slightly; like a gentle bard’s song. “All the administration has to be here.”

“Yes!” The human woman chimed in. “So if you’ll take a seat we can get started!” 

Two chairs remained next to Kalen’s. Taako nearly jumped for the middle one, desperate to keep his sister as far away as he could. 

“Perfect!” She smiled, but there was no joy behind it, only professionalism. “Now it’s come to our attention that you two have been without a legal guardian for the better part of a few years, correct?”

Not wanting to give the satisfaction of a vocal confirmation, Taako merely nodded. He knew this woman wasn’t the enemy, but it sure felt like it. 

“So,” She began, her smile falling into a contemplative look at her paperwork. “Hm. All the orphanages in the area are...full. We’ll need to find you a suitable guardian while we can work out a custody trial or find some place with room for you two.” 

The words struck like a Magic Missle to the heart. Taako lurched forward in his seat, gasping for air as his lungs threatened to close in on him. A hand clasped over his, warm and calloused. Not Lup…Merle. He fumbled a hand to push the cleric away,  _ not now _ . The hand released him as Taako gasped for air, grounding himself back in reality. 

They were all staring. Davenport, Lup, Merle, Kalen, the lady. Taako felt like he was going to throw up. Then a cool hand landed on his shoulder. He turned towards the hand, making eye contact with its owner, Kalen. His brows furrowed in confusion, Kalen’s eyes were soft, concerned almost. And if Taako weren’t any wiser, he wouldn’t have seen right through his facade. 

“I would have to go back to the office and run through the system to see if there was any available foster families in town,” She continued, frowning thoughtfully. “Or if maybe-”

“I could take them in,” A cold, smooth voice cut it. 

For a moment Taako could convince himself it never happened. Or that maybe Davenport or Merle had said it. But that lie was soon disproven as the grip on his shoulder tightened. This couldn’t be happening. He felt the familiar burn rise in his throat and in his chest but the shoved it away, desperate to be proven wrong about the situation unfolding. 

Lup was not as introspective. Her hands balled at her sides, nearly shaking with rage. 

“No!” She exclaimed earning startled looks from...almost everyone in the room. “No, you can’t!”

“I know,” She lady reassured. “You think your freedom is being taken I understa-”

“No it’s not that I just don’t want to-”

The lady spoke louder this time, obviously displeased with Lup’s behavior. “I’m sorry! You need a legal guardian. At least until you’re 18 and right now this is the only option.”

Taako let his thoughts get the better of him. 

“The only option or the easiest one?” He bit back. She ignored him. 

“Yes, Mr. Kalen I think that would work, you’re in the district so we already have a background check and in these… extenuating circumstances I don’t believe a home study is in order. At least until the custody trial is over.” 

Kalen smiled kindly, it was a terrible sight. “Sounds perfect.”

The lady turned to address the stunned twins. “I’m very happy for you two, maybe it’s not the end of the world like you thought,” She grinned, punctuated with a friendly wink. 

Taako shook his head as the lady left the office. “Not like we thought at  _ all. _ ”


	9. some sort of respectable shape

Kalen couldn’t help but smile. The opportunity presented itself perfectly, how could he resist. Now finally he’d be able to whip these twins into some sort of respectable shape. Turning to face his new wards, he smiled. 

“So!” He started. “Where do we need to pick up your stuff from!” 

But he elicited no response. Lup stared straight at the wall, like she was trying to burn a hole in it. And Taako stared down at his phone, typing a message in those awful fingerless gloves. 

He looked them over, Lup was horrendously out of dress code. She wore a black tank top with a baggy denim jacket and high waisted floral shorts that were  _ far  _ too short. Taako was an amalgamation of horrible fashion decisions. He was in high waisted black pants that were much too tight, a vintage looking shirt cut off in the middle, and an oversized cardigan thrown over. 

“Magnus is bringing them up, he has an off period,” Taako finally responded, not bothering to look up from his phone. 

Kalen nodded to nobody in particular but looking up he saw Davenport staring him down. He returned the glare, acutely aware of his disapproval of the situation. In his boss’s eyes there were hints of sadness and fear, both were overshadowed by the remarkable anger that shone through. Kalen felt a smug grin make its way onto his face. Davenport could do nothing, and he knew it tore him up inside. 

“Well!” Kalen sighed with joyful relief.  “Why don’t we wait outside for Magnus?” 

He pushed himself out of the chair and made his way to the door before turning to face the still office. Kalen cleared his throat pointedly and it was only then the twins stirred. Taako slowly pushed himself out of the chair, gathering his stuff, while Lup shot up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and marching right past Kalen out the door. Her brother followed at a dreadfully slow pace. He turned to the office, seeking solace in the glances of Merle or Davenport. But Davenport couldn’t look him in the eyes, and all he saw in Merle was pity. 

Taako felt Kalen’s hand on his back as he guided them out of the room. The doors to the school burst open; Magnus was here. Taako studied his best friend’s face. It was the same as almost everybody else’s, fear and disappointment, mixed with a  _ lot  _ of anger. Magnus had it out for Kalen like none of the rest of them did. Sure they all hated him but Magnus had a special place in his heart for his hatred of Kalen. He was so capable of love and he loved so fiercely, but by that same measurement he hated just as fiercely, and right now most of it was directed at Kalen.

Magnus took a few steps towards the twins, staring straight past them at Kalen. Taako cleared his throat and gestured to the duffle bag Magnus had slung across his back. It was his equipment bag for soccer. He wordlessly turned to Taako and handed it to him. 

“Bud, you like need this bag, yeah?” Taako asked, his voice strained.

“Nope, it’s all yours,” Magnus replied absentmindedly. 

“Okay, bud,” Taako shrugged, already feigning nonchalance again. 

Kalen stepped in between the twins, checking his watch. “It’s only about 3. I think we have time to run some errands before we go home.”

The word hung in the air for a long moment.  _ Home.  _ Taako and Lup hadn’t had a home in forever. Not since their aunt was forced to surrender custody. Lup silently mouthed the word;  _ home _ . A home would be lovely, but Lup knew this would not be a home; just another house they lived in. 

Kalen took a step forward to the door and stepped past Magnus. The twins made no move to follow, Taako’s grip tightened on the bag as the reached for his sister’s hand. Together they walked with Kalen to his car. He threw his stuff in the trunk and reached for the duffle bag Taako had. He took a small step back, protectively shielding the bag.

“Come  _ on, _ Taako,” Kalen sighed. “I’m just putting it in the trunk.” 

Feeling kind of foolish for being protective over something so insignificant, Taako shoved the bag outward, not making eye contact. He felt the bag leave his hand as it was slung into the trunk, the door shut with a thud.

They made their way towards the door, both piling in the backseat. Taako clicked his seatbelt into place before immediately returning his hand to his sister who did the same. In the front seat Kalen put his seatbelt on and started the car in silence. The twins watched as they pulled out of the school parking lot, finding some small solace in the fact they would still be with their friends. Simultaneously, Taako and Lup’s phone buzzed. Lup made no moves to fish hers out of her backpack, but Taako scrambled to grab it.

 

krav <3:

how are you two holding up?

 

Mr. Burnsides: 

god y’all i feel like an accomplice to a crime

 

taako:

we’re fine. running some errands before going “home”

 

krav <3:

fine isn’t good.

 

Madame Director:

Thanks for the lesson in synonyms, Kravitz 

 

taako: 

yeah the situation is Less than Ideal

Mrs. Burnsides:

hey, if i can take it, you sure as hell can too

 

taako: 

gtg. keep ya posted.

 

Taako hit send as the car came to a stop in front of a TJ Maxx. He jabbed his elbow at his sister who was staring out the window. 

“Kalen, what the f-” Lup started

“Ah,” He cut in, turning to face them. “First off, it’s Mr. Kalen, and secondly I’m establishing some ground rules. First of which being that we are going to dress like respectable students and not like,” He gestured to them, finding no apt adjective. “ _ this _ .”

Kalen exited the car, followed by a bemused Taako and a slightly agitated Lup. They walked in silence to the door. The store was practically empty as they walked inside, save for a few employees and soccer moms. Suddenly a basket was shoved into both of their hands. 

“Alright, you both go find clothes that don’t look like utter garbage and I’ll okay them and buy them. Taako, no skirts or heels. Lup, no crop tops or short shorts,” Kalen instructed. 

Lup grunted in response, taking her basket and her brother by the arm and storming off into the men’s section. Once they had walked out of earshot and were sure Kalen hadn’t followed them she threw the basket on the ground.

“Who does he think he is!” She fumed. 

“Lulu, come on. We don’t want to piss him off,” Taako grunted, grabbing a pair of khakis and throwing them in his basket. 

“Who says!” 

“ _ Me, _ ” Taako bit back, picking the basket up and holding it out to his sister. “Lup, come on it’ll be easier if we just cooperate.” 

She huffed in response and snatched the basket before turning sharply and storming off to the women’s section. 

“Huh, of course she doesn’t appreciate your logical approach. But I do.”

The sudden voice startled him. Taako whipped around to face it. Of course it was Kalen. 

“Thanks, but I don’t need your support.”

Kalen shrugged in response and held a closed shoe box out to him. Taako grabbed it carefully and opened it. They were just black dress shoes. Boring, black dress shoes. 

“I don’t care if you like them, I need to know if they’re your size,” Kalen snapped. 

“No, I wear a 9.” 

He snatched the box back and stalked off back towards the shoes. Taako returned to scanning the pants rack. A pair of black pants caught his eye among the dull greys and browns, he snatched them immediately and threw them into his basket. He threw in some greys and regular jeans for good measure before headed to the shirts. With a small cringe he picked up some polo’s.  _ I’m going to look atrocious _ , Taako thought, throwing a blue one in his basket anyway. A shelf full of button downs caught his eye, he inspected them and threw a few bland colors into his basket. 

Lup was fuming as she threw pants into her basket. She picked whatever she thought she could get away with, skinny jeans, dress pants, longer skirts. Huffing at the picked through pants rack she turned on her heel and strode towards the shirts. Grabbing every graphic tee she could find, she kept her eyes open for Kalen. The last thing she wanted was for him to sneak up on her. 

Regardless, she was startled when she saw him walking over. He wordlessly stuck out his hand. So she wordlessly quirked an eyebrow. He thrusted his open hand out further. She pursed her lips in reply and tilted her head. Kalen huffed, if she wanted to play this game so be it. He yanked the basket off her arm and inspected the clothes inside, pulling out some skinny jeans and a few too small shirts. He lowered the basket back down, preparing to walk away and pay. Looking up at her, almost as an afterthought, he spoke.

“You know, it’d be a lot easier if you just complied like your brother.”

“Stop pretending you know anything about my brother,” She hissed. Kalen gave a slight scoff in reply, shoving the basket back out to her. 

“Go wait with your brother, I have a phone call to make,” He ordered. Lup begrudgingly took the basket and stormed off towards the registers.

She couldn’t help but mentally curse Kalen. They’d been with him for maybe 30 minutes and her life already felt like hell, and that's not even dipping into the atrocious things he’d done to her friends. Her hands shook just thinking about it. Taako looked up at her front where he was standing, and he was...angry. There was a quiet rage in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before, at least not in a while. It was a good thing, he was finally as angry as her. He wouldn’t take this lying down anymore. When Kalen came back to pay for their clothes Lup reached out her hand to her brother, who gripped it tightly. Kalen shoved bags into their hands without a word and began to walk out of the store. The twins followed silently and kept holding hands until they got to Kalen’s house.

The drive home was quiet and off putting. They drove through unfamiliar neighborhoods and Taako couldn’t help but stare out the window. He couldn’t believe this was really happening. It hit him in waves, the face that they had finally been busted and their future was up in the air again. Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts away. He was supposed to be focused on the right now, and right now they were pulling into the driveway of Kalen’s house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! sorry it took so long to update! life and school and the such. I wont be posting regularly but I hope to get more chapters out more often.


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